Article - Nurse practitioner and full partner

Nurse practitioner and full partner

She's the person other physicians refer their patients to if they have issues with incontinence.

She's the one who's especially adept at easing the fear and anxiety of patients who are nervous during their gynecological exams.

And whose kindness, compassion and patience give her the skills to work effortlessly with patients who have intellectual disabilities.

She is Kelley Hasenauer, a family nurse practitioner, who, with Dr. Mike Trierweiler, sees patients on a regular basis in their new women's health practice, Platte Valley Women's Health Care Clinic.

Yep, that's right, their new practice.

Hasenauer is a full partner in the medical practice she and Dr. Trierweiler opened in North Platte on June 4. The clinic offers comprehensive women's primary care in all aspects of life, from birth to death, including obstetrics and gynecology.

The practice of employing nurse practitioners has come a long way since 1994 when the University of Nebraska Medical Center graduated its first class. Before that there were only 51 nurse practitioners in the state.

Today there are more than 830.

But running a medical practice as a full partner is unheard of in the state.

"There has never been a partnership like this before," Dr. Trierweiler said.

Yet, when he decided to open a practice in North Platte Dr. Trierweiler knew he would need help and his first thought was of Hasenauer, whom he had worked with before.

"Kelley has the knowledge and depth of clinical expertise that I needed," he said.

Hasenauer also has hospital privileges. She can admit and discharge patients, sign death certificates and assist in surgery.

Together, she and Dr. Trierweiler see 20 to 30 patients a day and the numbers are growing.

"The North Platte community has really embraced the practice," Hasenauer said.

A native of North Platte, Hasenauer lived and worked there for nine years before leaving in 2010 to take a faculty teaching position at UNMC. Two years later she jumped at the opportunity to move back and open a practice with Dr. Trierweiler.

"I'm thrilled to be back," Hasenauer said. "I've always felt my patients were very supportive of my role as a nurse practitioner and that they appreciated the unique contribution I can make to their health."

The clinic, she said, is a testament to the quality of health care that nurse practitioners can and do provide.

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Over the years of helping donors achieve their philanthropic goals we have developed a number of We Believe Statements to guide us. One of those beliefs is that higher education has the power to transform lives and communities.

We Believe

Over the years of helping donors achieve their philanthropic goals we have developed a number of We Believe Statements to guide us. One of those beliefs is that higher education has the power to transform lives and communities.